Patrick Stevens' coverage of college sports in D.C./Baltimore/Virginia, just the same as ever

11/24/2010

Picks at the wire: Week 13

So readers have a chance to get their eyes on this (unlike the other content that will get cranked out in the next few days that will likely be ignored), here's this week's ACC picks a day earlier than usual.

* Virginia at Virginia Tech (Noon, Raycom/ACC Network): Hokies 42-13. How long has it been since the Cavaliers captured the Commonwealth Cup in Blacksburg? Well, Aaron Brooks was Virginia's quarterback at the time. That drought will end some day, but this year doesn't appear to be the likely time. Virginia Tech will finish out the ACC's first perfect regular season since 2000, and do so in emphatic fashion. Virginia, meanwhile, will go 0-for-November. Again.

* Boston College at Syracuse (Noon, ESPN): Eagles 24-20. How to evaluate the Orange, who were terrible for the last five years? Well, they're better, but still a mid-pack Big East team. Which is to say that aside from beating other Big East teams, they haven't done a whole lot (knocking off a pair of Division I-AA teams and woeful Akron). Boston College, sans Montel Harris, will make things interesting but nonetheless complete a 5-0 run to close out the regular season.

* South Florida at Miami (Noon, ESPNU): Hurricanes 31-10. With Miami out of the ACC Coastal Division race, the best question here is how many fans actually show up for the Hurricanes' third home game of November. The guess, even with an in-state opponent, is not many. The Bulls are 6-4, and they haven't beaten a Division I-A team with a winning record. That won't start Saturday.

* North Carolina at Duke (Noon, ESPNU): Tar Heels 31-30. This one could be highly entertaining, even if it doesn't mean a whole lot beyond North Carolina assuring it can be taken ahead of Maryland and Miami in the ACC's bowl selection process. From preseason national title darkhorse to trying to clinch a winning record in the final week, it's been an odd journey for the Tar Heels. They'll struggle to dispatch the pesky Blue Devils, who have played admirably the last four weeks.

* Florida at Florida State (3:30, ABC/ESPN): Seminoles 27-20. This pick has more to do with the Gators than Florida State. Really, what is the best thing Florida has done this season? Get outfoxed in the end by Les Miles? Beat a 5-6 Georgia team on a neutral field? Smother Kentucky? When beating Kentucky is in contention for best accomplishment of an SEC team's football season, they usually haven't managed a whole lot. This would be a big one for Jimbo Fisher, and will carry some in-state weight if the Seminoles can end a drought against the Gators that stretches back to the Zook Interregnum.

* N.C. State at Maryland (3:30, ESPN2): Terrapins 31-28. If these two teams are playing, chances are it will be a close game. This one will be no exception. The Wolfpack has plenty to play for --- an Atlantic Division title is theirs with a victory. Yet the Terps haven't dropped consecutive games all season and have played well at home all season. Maryland has won its finale at Byrd just once in the last five years (2007 vs. Boston College), but the Terps will bounce back from a disappointing setback against Florida State to foil N.C. State.

* South Carolina at Clemson (7, ESPN2): Tigers 20-17. It's bad enough trying to pick how one of these teams is going to do in a given week. Both of them on the same field? Just pull a Costanza and go with the opposite of your gut feeling. Seems like South Carolina should romp heading into the SEC title game? Time to go with Clemson in a close one.

* Wake Forest at Vanderbilt (7:30, CSS): Commodores 10-7. Worst game of the weekend? Vanderbilt's lost six straight, while Wake Forest has dropped nine in a row. In 11 combined games since Oct. 16, the 'Dores and Deacons are 0-11 and have been outscored by an average margin of 28.1 points. Yuck. Do what oddsmakers do, give the home team a tepid three-point edge and move on.

* Georgia Tech at Georgia (7:45, ESPN): Bulldogs 31-17. Georgia has bowl eligibility on the line, and the Yellow Jackets are simply trying to clinch a winning season regardless of their postseason result. Neither team has impressed much all year, though Georgia clearly has the talent to hang with superior opponents for a little while. Georgia Tech is not superior, at least not this year. Look for Georgia to salvage something from its season between the hedges in prime time.

Comments

Its getting near the end of the regular football season, Pat. And that means Bowl games are approaching. What say you take a shot at predicting which ACC team will be going where as Week 13 games draw nigh? I have my best guesses!